Midtown’s ‘Border Wall’ must move by (ironically) Cinco de Mayo

With the help of a dozen undocumented Mexican workers, Atlanta artist Joseph Guay built his own version of President Donald Trump’s oft-touted border wall.

Standing 16-feet high and 40-feet long, the 250,000-pound art installation, aptly dubbed “The Border Wall,” towers over a street corner in Midtown, at the intersection of 10th Street and Howell Mill Road.

But on Cinco de Mayo, Guay said in a Facebook post, “THE BORDER WALL MUST GO... Literally.”

The man who owns the land the wall sits on, Guay told Curbed Atlanta, recently sold the lot and needs it clear for its new owner.

"He was really cool to provide a space for me to do the project," Guay said. "But he recently sold the property and [the sale] closed sooner than expected."

Guay said it’s ironic that his piece—meant to foster conversation about immigration laws and Trump’s ambitions to build a large fence between America and its southern neighbor—needs to be moved by May 5.

That also happens to be the Mexican holiday celebrating the nation’s victory over French invaders in 1862. Then again, Atlanta’s wall was only supposed to be there until December, according to CBS46.

Joseph Guay

Guay said he’s shopping around for a new home for the artwork. Perhaps somewhere near the U.S. Capital or one of Trump’s businesses.

“I once thought about relocating it to D.C. or Trump Tower, or even putting it on the actual border for people from both countries to express their thoughts,” he wrote.

Atlantans have been doing a whole lot of expressing their thoughts on his “Border Wall.” Guay likes to create art that invites interaction and expression, as evidenced by his exhibit during last month’s March for Our Lives protest.

Since he installed the wall in Midtown last summer, it’s attracted plenty of graffiti, much of which gelled with the dialogue he sought.

Said one addition:

HELP WANTED:

Need U.S. Citizens to do the jobs that nobody wants to do, except often times (sic) the illegal immigrants who come here, willing to toil in low-wage jobs hoping to create a better life for themselves and their families.

NOW HIRING FOR:

Animal Breeders, Sewing Machine Operators, Maids, Poultry Processors, Crop Pickers, Dishwashers, Animal Slaughtering and many more. Apply in person at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Joseph Guay

The artist, whose self-designed home happens to be for sale in Kirkwood, has debated wiping the wall clean, plastering a new image of Trump on it, and painting “a line of Mexican families holding hands on the other side.”

Guay also said the wall could be disassembled as-is and passed on to art collectors who “are looking to own a piece of true street art that became a topic for international press,” according to the post.

Some commenters on his post have offered to help Guay bring his “Border Wall” all the way to New York City.

Joseph Guay

• Atlanta artist is erecting massive Westside wall to stoke conversation [Curbed]
• Artist designs ‘border wall’ in midtown Atlanta [CBS46]
• With 14 empty school desks, Atlanta artist Joseph Guay gave March for Our Lives protesters another way to speak out [Atlanta Magazine]